obfuscate

[ ob-fuh-skeyt, ob-fuhs-keyt ]

verb (used with object)

, ob·fus·cat·ed, ob·fus·cat·ing.

1. to make unclear or hard to understand, especially deliberately:

   Do not obfuscate the issue with irrelevant detail.

   Synonyms: muddy, cloud

2. to confuse or bewilder:

   The authors achieve their purpose without obfuscating the reader by using too much technical terminology.

   Synonyms: perplex, muddle

   Antonyms: illuminate, clarify

3. to darken.

verb (used without object)

, ob·fus·cat·ed, ob·fus·cat·ing.

1. to make something unclear or hard to understand, especially deliberately; speak or write evasively or obscurely:

   Notice how she obfuscates when asked directly about her conversations with the defendant.

obfuscate

/ ˈɒbfʌsˌkeɪt /

verb

1. to obscure or darken
2. to perplex or bewilder

Derived Forms

• ˌobfusˈcatory, adjective

Other Words From

• ob·fus·ca·tion [ob-f, uh, -, skey, -sh, uh, n], noun
• ob·fus·ca·to·ry [ob-, fuhs, -k, uh, -tawr-ee], adjective
• un·ob·fus·cat·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of obfuscate¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Late Latin obfuscātus “darkened,” past participle of obfuscāre “to darken,” from Latin ob- ob- + fusc(us) “dark” + -āre, infinitive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of obfuscate¹

C16: from Latin ob- (intensive) + fuscāre to blacken, from fuscus dark

Example Sentences

He reserves particular condemnation for phrases like “let me be clear,” which is used here in Hawley’s tweet as code for “let me obfuscate.”

From Washington Post

The opposite is true as well—an overwhelming data dump can be designed to obfuscate the facts on the ground.

From Fortune

So I’m really worried in some ways about these technical standards becoming a kind of checkbox that needs to be ticked, and that then ignores or obfuscates the other forms of harms that these technologies have when they’re applied.

From MIT Technology Review

It’s something that’s easy to go back to – despite the obfuscating verbiage, the characters are working through the same things we are today.

From Washington Blade

Using a service called a Virtual Private Network could help organizers obfuscate their Internet traffic.

From Time